That would be great if he could - but isn’t it a constitutional monarchy there? He might be restricted from doing something like that.
I think it is really nice that the population seem to actually like their royal family. I really hope the country can get itself sorted out though, it really can not be good for the economy, it has to be scaring away tourists.
Restrictions, shmestrictions. My basic thought is ‘Can he get away with it’, not ‘Is it legal’. Not that I suppose it would work either, but the current state of things is a real mess.
It would appear so. I count 2001 as a watershed year. That’s when Thaksin took office as prime minister. This entire trouble would stop tomorrow if he died today. No one, and I mean no one, would follow anyone else in his family.
Zero chance. None. Nada. Less than zero actually. There are many reasons why this is, but I will not discuss a single one of them. Saying the wrong thing about anyone in the monarchy let alone the Big Man himself, no matter how innocently, could net me a 15-year prison sentence, and I will not go down that road. This is my final word on the matter. Just this paragraph alone makes me want to check to see I know where my passport is.
A series of warm-up marches to the January 13 shutdown of Bangkok is planned for this week starting today (Sunday). And the authorities are starting to hint that maybe they will have to take some action come January 13 if it looks like the protesters really are shutting down the city.
Ya know, this sort of thing takes a lot of money. This isn’t just some spontaneous uprising. Thailand is a good example of a Game of Thrones microcosm. Many powerful forces vie behind the scenes. Suthep is wealthy but not so much that he can finance this all on his own. He’s being backed by some powerful families. The families that own Bangkok Bank, Thailand’s largest, and the Central Department Store chain are staunch Democrats. There’s a reason why, during the 2010 red-shirt riots, so many Bangkok Bank branches suffered arson attacks, and why the huge Central World shopping center, owned by the Central Department Store family, was gutted by fire. Those were not random, although there was a bunch of random violence too. These families and others are forever at loggerheads with Thaksin and his family.
Suthep already called for a general strike and it didn’t happen. The impression I get is that while most bangkok residents might support suthep they can’t afford to stop going to work to go to protests? shutting down the city on a Sunday doesn’t do very much, since most people don’t work then anyway.
If they shutdown the airports or major intersections midweek then things are getting serious.
The shutdown is scheduled from a Monday, the 13th, a week from tomorrow. We’ll see what happens. He might be able to pull it off. To give one example of the animosity toward the Thaksin crowd and the government, my own wife, who really is usually the epitome of common sense, freely admits she doesn’t care what happens as long as the Thaksin crowd is dumped or at the very least inconvenienced in any way. I point out that the red shirts will just take their turn in the streets if that happens. She doesn’t care, just shoot those bastards and to hell with them if they show their heads. I know a lot of people in Bangkok who feel this way.
Bangkok is itself a Democrat stronghold. The ruling Pheu Thai Party – which admittedly, if you count all its incarnations stretching back to the now-outlawed Thai Rak Thai Party, is only 15-1/2 years old – has never put one of their own in the governor’s chair. It’s almost always a Democrat except for a few occasions when they’ve gone for some sort of independent or ad-hoc party, like the one guy from the short-lived Worker Ant Party some years ago. (He was pretty good too, actually.) The present Bangkok governor, who won reelection not too long ago, is a Democrat, but you don’t hear much about him these days. He’s oddly quiet.
I just learned Singapore Airlines is canceling 19 of its flights to Bangkok from January 14 to February 25 due to the troubles. They normally have five flights a day, so I’m not sure exactly what that means. But it’s a bad omen if airlines start canceling any flights.
Apparently the flights are cancelled due to low demand, tourists are cancelling their plans to come to Thailand so airlines are responding by reducing flight frequency.
I have also heard that buses that previously ran from Kao sarn road are now departing from elsewhere so they don’t have to go past the democracy monument. I am guessing that it’s hitting the Kao sarn guest houses and restaurants pretty hard.
And I’ve heard complaints from the bars that what looked to be a promising high season for them is starting to fall flat.
And now I’m really mad: The South Korean all-girl pop band Girls’ Generation may cancel their concert here this week. NO! NO! Oh Lord, no. (Actually, I didn’t know they were coming here, but I’ve seen their music videos, and they’re quite pleasing on the eye.) Their present tour is called “Girls and Peace,” and reportedly they’re figuring what’s the point?
More ominously, it looks like the army is moving tanks, heavy artillery and armaments into Bangkok tonight (Monday night). I’d heard yesterday the red shirts were saying the military was on the move, and they hoped it presaged a coup. Or dreaded a coup, according to some, who knows anymore? But the army now confirms they’re setting up in Bangkok starting tonight, and they say they’re making the announcement to allay concerns about any possible coup. Hmm, right. They say this is all in preparation for the annual Army Day on January 18.
Ya know, these protesters are the same side that occupied and shut down both of Bangkok’s airports for a week and a half in late 2008. It’s not out of the question that they’d do it again.
Sam, as I wondered before, are you and the wife prepared, in terms of food and other staples? You said you had enough birdseed, but how about bottled water and non-perishable foodstocks?
I think we’re pretty well set. But if worse comes to worst, I’ve already got my places picked out to loot.
All eyes have suddenly turned to the army, as their silence is speaking volumes. Not many are buying the Army Day explanation for the troop and materiel movements.
Meanwhile, businesses are preparing backup plans, and people are being urged to make sure they’re well provisioned ahead of next week. It’s like a huge tsunami that everyone is watching come bearing down but no one can do anything about it.
Right you are!: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/LG_시네마_3D_TV_새_모델_‘소녀시대’_영입.jpg
Thanks again for keeping us posted. Stay safe.
Check out some of their music videos. Those will help keep you warm on a cold winter’s night, I’ll clue ya. 
I’d mentioned some sort of court ruling due yesterday (Tuesday) that might invalidate many ruling-party candidacies and thus cancel the need for any shutdown anyway next week. Alas! Didn’t happen. The way seems clear for the shutdown now. Or a coup. It would be both funny and pathetic if this turns out to be just a load of hot air, but clearly some sort of disruption is likely. In addition to other precautions, doctors are now urging mental patients to be sure to stock up in their meds just in case. Really!
we will get you. revenge is a dish best served…cold.
Well, the protesters were vowing to shut 20 major intersections from next Monday. That’s suddenly changed to seven intersections, but they’re still vowing the city will be frozen. Hmm. We’ll see.
I can’t find the link right now, but I read that the (caretaker) governments response is basically to increase public transport on Monday. I have to say that the Yingluck government is being quite clever that they never directly confront the protesters, they instead give them free rein but then take steps to minimize the consequences of the protesters actions.
Seems to me like it will work. Key intersections might be blocked but people will still be able to get to work on the Skytrain and MRT, and if the protesters block those they risk losing popular support with Bangkok residents. So it goes…
Wow, what a mess. A violent, bloody, difficult-for-this-ignorant-American-to-understand mess. One more vote for the “stay safe” chorus.
Well, not too bloody, at least not yet. Believe me, this is a cakewalk compared with the 2010 rioting.
But coremelt is right, the protesters are risking alienating a big support base, ie the people of Bangkok, by doing this. On the other hand, I personally know Thais who are so rabidly opposed to Thaksin and his ilk that nothing would be beyond the pale. I’ve given up pointing out that only Thaksin’s death will ever settle anything in the absence of a military government, because I’m then usually urged to go shoot him myself and become a martyr for the cause. Screw that!
Meanwhile, the Transport Ministry is preparing.
A decent Op-Ed piece today: Suthep should be shut down, not Bangkok
An interesting article, but why does the man have a rubber band on his wrist?
